"Doctor, can this illness still be cured?"
A man lying on a bed clutched Su's hand desperately.
"In my family, I'm the only one who can work. My child is still small… and he's caught this strange sickness too. His mother passed away early. This family can't go on without me…"
Su opened his eyes, lowered them, and looked at the man's hand—covered in crimson lines. Half his face was already marred as well. There was no doubt: the Honkai infection had reached its final stage.
Su chose to hold the man's hand tighter and answered softly,
"There will be a way."
The man's eyes lit up with hope. He kept repeating, "Thank you, doctor. Thank you!"
But after a pause, he hesitated, then asked,
"Doctor… will the treatment be expensive? If it costs too much… then just treat my child instead!"
Su calmly soothed him again, easing his emotions, before moving to others in the room—assuring them not to be afraid, trying to stabilize the mood.
Pardofelis and Dystopia were helping as well, chatting with those suffering from Honkai erosion, distracting them with lighthearted talk.
"Little miss, my illness… there's no saving me, is there?"
An elderly man suddenly asked Dystopia.
She froze, then quickly replied,
"Of course there is! Grandpa, this sickness can absolutely be treated. Please don't lose hope!"
The old man smiled faintly.
"Whether or not there's a cure… what difference does it make for these old bones of mine? I've lived long enough. I've seen too much. Some things… you can sense, even without being told."
Dystopia fell silent.
The old man suddenly grasped her hand tightly, his tone earnest:
"I've been to the big cities. I know—when an incurable illness appears, as long as there are enough test subjects, those people will always find a way. My life's already been lived. But my granddaughter… she's still so young. Her life shouldn't end here. So… please, if nothing else, save her…"
Dystopia hesitated, then clasped both her hands around his.
"We'll find a way. I promise… we will."
Meanwhile, Pardofelis sat with the children, sharing amusing stories she'd picked up from Sundown Alley—sprinkling in her usual embellishments. The children listened, wide-eyed, occasionally bombarding her with curious questions.
After a while, Silas and the others returned.
"How's the situation?" Silas asked, looking at Su.
Su sighed, glancing at the patients.
"The results are just as I told you before. But I still lack the proper equipment and time to test every villager. We'll likely need to report this to Fire Moth and request reinforcements from a branch to conduct a full examination here."
"The age distribution?" Silas pressed.
"Seven children under fifteen—five with mild infections, two with moderate. Among the young men, five in total: one severe, four moderate. Among the young women, six in total: five moderate, one severe. And one elderly man, moderate infection." Su recited. "And on your side?"
Kevin answered flatly,
"We checked the factory. There was indeed a mutated Honkai beast. Not a major issue—estimated at Templar-class, still juvenile. The likely cause of the outbreak was a crystallized Honkai energy core inside the factory's reactor."
In other words, the factory had been using Honkai energy as a power supply. Improper handling eventually triggered the outbreak.
At this time, Honkai energy was not yet widely accepted as a mainstream power source. Outside of Fire Moth, the technology to harness it was far from mature. But compared to other forms of energy, Honkai power was cheaper and more versatile. Inevitably, some still chose to use it—and many outbreaks had begun in just such places.
Silas thought for a while, then said,
"…I see. Then we'll stick to what I proposed before: the mild cases are to be taken back to Fire Moth. As for the moderate and severe…"
"Wait!" Dystopia's voice cut him off.
"Silas, take them back too!"
Silas glanced at her, his voice calm but firm.
"That's against regulations, Dystopia."
Her tone grew sharper, resolute.
"Rules are dead things. People are alive. Maybe Fire Moth won't accept them… but what if a researcher is willing to? Silas, you know Dr. Mobius, don't you? She's an expert in this field! She can find a way, can't she?"
Silas looked at Dystopia, his voice calm but cold:
"Wouldn't the mildly infected make for better test subjects?"
"Silas!" Dystopia's voice rose in outrage.
"We're people, not machines! How could you…"
"That's enough, Dystopia. Don't make things harder for him." Kosma cut in.
(Treating those consumed by Honkai erosion is nowhere near that simple. Even Griseo, back then, had only one chance at survival—the MANTIS surgery. And even then, Mobius staked everything on a gamble. Mobius' field was never truly 'cure'—it was 'evolution'.)
"Kosma!" Dystopia turned on him, eyes blazing.
"How can you say something like that? What happened to you? To the one who once fought for justice, who wished for everyone's happiness?! Why are you saying these things now?!"
Kosma had no answer. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Elysia—the true leader of the team. The decision lay in her hands.
"Well, since Dystopia insists so much… let's take them all back. Silas, I'll leave it to you to speak with Mobius~" Elysia said lightly, but her eyes were firm.
Silas looked at Dystopia, then at Elysia. He could only relent.
"…Fine. But the severely infected must be dealt with immediately."
"Why?" Dystopia demanded.
Su sighed, explaining gently,
"Because the next stage of severe infection may be death—either they turn into Herrscher's dead soldiers, or become a new source of contagion."
Dystopia fell silent, struggling. After a long pause, she whispered,
"…I understand."
Arms crossed, Silas looked at her and said,
"Then you'll follow through. Since you insist they deserve treatment, you'll personally oversee their entire process. Only then will you understand why I said what I did."
"Dr. Mobius is a genius. Fire Moth has countless experts at the very pinnacle of this field. There's no way they can't succeed." Dystopia's eyes locked onto Silas'.
"They will prove you wrong."
"…Perhaps." Silas turned away, heading off to contact Mobius.
"I hope I'm wrong too."
But reality had already shown him otherwise.
Why was it, then? Mobius, Mei, even Vill-V—geniuses beyond compare, whose brilliance would eclipse any era. Yet not one of them ever discovered a true cure for Honkai erosion. Even Mei herself, in the end, succumbed to it.
Silas could only suspect that it was because a higher power had shackled humanity from the start. Just as "It" had the authority to weave the fate of all living things, perhaps it had barred humanity from ever curing Honkai. Any flash of possibility would vanish before it could even take shape.
After all, in terms of genius—Mobius was no less than Otto. She was a monster who could think before birth and speak upon her very first breath. Otto couldn't claim such feats.
And yet, Otto created a cure for the Black Death—an ailment that, in this world, was nothing less than a manifestation of Honkai corruption.
If Otto could do it, there was no reason Mobius couldn't. Especially when Otto was a generalist, while Mobius specialized in Honkai and biology.
Not to mention the "old man" later—who somehow crafted a Honkai suppressor. And he was just one of Schicksal's many researchers.
If they could do it, then why not the geniuses of the Previous Era?
But the facts were there. Unless one believed in some absurd "writer's inconsistency," the only explanation was interference from that higher existence.
Silas even began to understand why Dystopia had eventually sunk into the dream of the Eighth Herrscher. Perhaps she had seen a world without Honkai, without sacrifice.
But how could he save her from that? Would he need to crush the Eighth Herrscher first?
In the end, it would fall to Kosma—whether he could reach her or not. Silas himself wasn't hopeful.
And yet… when he thought of it this way, his gaze drifted across to Sakura, then to Kosma, Su, and Kevin.
They had somehow broken past that very shackle.
Could it be… that Elysia's Authority hadn't been completely reset by him? That, because of it, this world now held a dozen or so individuals free from the higher existence's constraints?
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